Roald Dahl/Transcript
Transcript Text reads: The Mysteries of Life with Tim and Moby A boy, Tim, is typing at his computer. A robot, Moby, comes over to him. MOBY: Beep, beep, beep. TIM: Hey, I can't go outside right now, Moby. I'm doing my homework. MOBY: Beep. TIM: All right, all right. This better be good. Aaah! In Tim's backyard there is a gigantic peach that is taller than his house. A very large worm, grasshopper, and ladybug crawl out of it. The grasshopper is wearing a suit and holding a violin, and gives Tim a letter. Tim reads from the typed letter. TIM: Dear Tim and Moby, I just read Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and I want to know more about the author. What can you tell me about Roald Dahl? From, Jimmy. MOBY: Beep. TIM: Yeah, Roald Dahl is one of my favorite writers, too. An image shows Roald Dahl. TIM: He's famous for the books he wrote for children, but he also wrote adult novels, and short stories, and screenplays, and nonfiction, too. Images show samples of the types of works Dahl wrote. Examples of his books for children include Danny the Champion of the World, James and the Giant Peach, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, The Witches, and The BFG. Some Time Never is an adult novel, Kiss Kiss is a collection of short stories, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang is a screenplay, and Going Solo is nonfiction. TIM: Roald Dahl was born near Cardiff, Wales, in nineteen sixteen. That's part of Great Britain. A map of Great Britain shows Cardiff in southeast Wales. TIM: His mom and dad were from Norway, and they named him Roald Amundsen, the famous Norwegian explorer. A map shows Norway. An image shows Roald Amundsen in a cold place with a Norwegian flag. TIM: Roald was sent off to boarding school when he was only nine years old. An image shows Roald in his boarding school uniform. TIM: He became very homesick, and he had a hard time obeying the strict teachers and headmasters. MOBY: Beep. TIM: Well, back then teachers would sometimes hit their students with a cane when they misbehaved. This naturally made a lot of kids afraid of their teachers. An image shows a teacher rolling up his sleeve and holding a cane as he looks at a scared Roald. TIM: Later on, Roald incorporated this fear and distrust of adults into many of his children's books. An image shows three of Dahl's books: Boy, James and the Giant Peach, and The Witches. The image of the teacher with a cane and a scared Roald appears on the cover of Boy. MOBY: Beep. TIM: Oh, come on, not all adults are bad. Some of them are pretty nice. Anyway, during World War Two, Roald joined the Royal Air Force and flew missions over Africa, the Mediterranean, and the Middle East. An image shows Roald Dahl in his Royal Air Force uniform. TIM: At one point, his plane crashed in the Libyan desert. He was temporarily blind and stranded in the middle of nowhere with a cracked skull and a broken nose. An image shows Roald Dahl's smoking, crashed plane and Roald lying on the ground in the barren desert. TIM: Fortunately, he was rescued and made a complete recovery. After his injuries forced him to leave the Air Force, Roald began writing. An image shows Roald writing at his typewriter. TIM: His first published piece was a magazine article about his plane crash. An image shows the plane crash in the background behind Roald typing. TIM: During the nineteen fifties, he became an accomplished writer of short stories for adults. An image shows the book Kiss Kiss, which contains Roald's short stories. TIM: These stories usually featured mystery, suspense, and a twist ending. MOBY: Beep. TIM: Okay, okay, we're finally getting to the good part. In nineteen sixty-one, Roald published James and the Giant Peach. An image shows the book. TIM: You're probably familiar with it. I know these guys are. Tim looks at the giant grasshopper, worm, and ladybug. TIM: It tells the story of a young boy who yearns to escape from his two nasty, abusive aunts. An image shows the scared boy cowering near his aunts. One holds a cane and the other a large spoon. They are poised to strike him with these objects. TIM: He finally gets away by sailing across the ocean inside a magical giant peach and befriends the giant bugs that live inside it. An image shows the giant peach sailing on the ocean, and the giant bugs with James. TIM: James and the Giant Peach was inspired by the bedtime stories Roald would make up for his young daughters. An image shows the book. TIM: He said that it was a challenge to keep them interested and attentive. He had to make his stories funny, exciting, and original. In nineteen sixty-four, he wrote his most famous book, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. An image shows this book. TIM: You know the story. A poor boy wins a "golden ticket" to tour a mysterious candy factory run by the eccentric Willy Wonka. Side by side images show the boy holding the golden ticket, and Willy Wonka. MOBY: Beep. TIM: No, I'm not gonna tell you how it ends. You should read it yourself. MOBY: Beep, beep. TIM: Seeing the movie doesn't count. Anyway, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory became a huge hit around the world. An image shows the book. TIM: It served as the basis for two movies, a theme-park ride, and even a video game. Over the next twenty-five years, Dahl wrote fifteen more children's books. They've been translated into thirty-four languages, and are still read and loved by children everywhere. An image shows Roald Dahl. TIM: They include The BFG, about a young girl's friendship with a big, friendly giant; The Witches, in which a boy and his grandmother prevent a group of witches from turning all the world's children into mice; and Danny, the Champion of the World, the story of a poor boy and his father who outsmart a greedy landowner. Images show the books Tim names. TIM: Roald Dahl died in nineteen ninety, at the age of seventy-four. But his legacy lives on. Buckinghamshire, England, where he lived, has two museums dedicated to his life and work. A map of Great Britain shows Buckinghamshire, in the south of England. TIM: And the charitable foundations he started continue to help sick and needy children throughout the world. MOBY: Beep. Moby points to the gigantic insects. TIM: I don't know. They're just standing here. This is creepy.Category:BrainPOP Transcripts